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Uncovering neutrinoless double beta decay (0$\nu$2$\beta$) is crucial for confirming neutrinos' Majorana characteristics. The decay rate of 0$\nu\beta\beta$ is theoretically uncertain, influenced by nuclear matrix elements that vary across nuclides. To reduce this uncertainty, precise measurement of the half-life of neutrino-emitting double beta decay (2$\nu$2$\beta$) in different nuclides is essential. We have launched the PIKACHU (Pure Inorganic scintillator experiment in KAmioka for CHallenging Underground sciences) project to fabricate high-purity Ce-doped Gd$_{3}$Ga$_{3}$Al$_{2}$O$_{12}$ (GAGG) single crystals and use them to study the double beta decay of $^{160}$Gd. Predictions from two theoretical models on nuclear matrix element calculations for 2$\nu$2$\beta$ in $^{160}$Gd show a significant discrepancy in estimated half-lives, differing by approximately an order of magnitude. If the lower half-life estimation holds true, detecting 2$\nu$2$\beta$ in $^{160}$Gd could be achievable with a sensitivity enhancement slightly more than an order of magnitude compared to prior investigations using Ce-doped Gd$_2$SiO$_5$ (GSO) crystal. We have successfully developed GAGG crystals with purity levels surpassing previous standards through refined purification and selection of raw materials. Our experiments with these crystals indicate the feasibility of reaching sensitivities exceeding those of earlier studies. This paper discusses the ongoing development and scintillator performance evaluation of High-purity GAGG crystals, along with the anticipated future prospects of the PIKACHU experiment., Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures

We developed a beam telescope system comprising five layers of 300-$\mu$m-thick INTPIX4NA monolithic pixel sensors with each pixel size of 17 $\mu$m square. The sensors were fabricated using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. The signal-to-noise ratio of 140--230 is realized at a bias voltage of 20~V. The tracker system was tested using a positron beam of 200--822 MeV/c, and various tracking methods are examined to optimize spatial precision achievable at these energies. The best tracking precision including the precision of the sensor under test itself is 11.04 $\pm$ 0.10 $\mu$m for 822-MeV/c positrons for an equidistant sensor spacing of 32 mm. The achieved precision results combined with the intrinsic spatial resolution value obtained for a similar system using 120 GeV protons are used to estimate the tracking performance of electrons in the GeV energy range; a tracking precision of 2.22 $\mu$m is evaluated for 5-GeV electrons. The method to estimate the tracking performance is verified using a Geant4-based simulation. The developed high precision tracker system enables to map the detailed performance of the sensors with pixel sizes of $\mathcal{O}$(10 $\mu$m), therefore will be a powerful system for development of devices targeting precision position resolutions., Comment: 13 figures and 4 tables